One Flew Over the Crochet Hook

I'm a happy hooker who crochets her way through her day: on the bus, at diners, at home... with friends or alone.
"If that's what's being crazy is, then I'm senseless, out of it, gone-down-the-road, wacko." - McMurphy - One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

Thursday, February 03, 2011

Since I last posted those pictures of my Drama King Cat, Beethoven has had to endure 5 different homes in 2 different states. Lilycat endured theses moves, too... but it seemed less traumatic for her.

First there was a 1600 mile drive, which Beethoven's tummy never adjusted to. I don't really want to go into detail here. Let's just say that as my sister and I drove across half of the country in about 3 days, we went through at least 3 carriers for him.

After that, there was the unfinished basement in rural PA... where Lilycat would find the most bizarre and fascinating insects. Beethoven was not pleased.

There was the drafty apartment which he didn't mind so much...

Then, there was the house where he had to compete with 2 dogs and a very voluptous cat for his food.

THEN, there was the trip South and staying in one tiny room with his archnemisis, aka Lilycat.

Finally, we have happily settled in a townhouse-style condo. Things are calm and quiet.

Beethoven has plenty of room and doesn't have to compete with anyone for food or space.

He is much more fun to be around now and his tummy has settled down. Apparently cats have mind-body issues, too.

My world jolted up and down and spinned around a few times. It's so much easier to just give you the cat update than to fill you in on my story.

With the rollercoaster of my life going on, I neglected my blog and my crafting.

I did make some really cool stuff in the past... uh... few years, though... so I want to start posting some of these things in an update.

I'm in the process of packing and sorting and tossing and selling and donating stuff so that I can make the move from TX to PA.

Along the way, I have made several full car trips to Goodwill and have also donated three GIANT trash bags of YARN to two different local charities. One charity gives the yarn to 5th graders who are taught how to knit after school. They make items for preemies in the hospitals. It helps give the kids something positive to do while learning an awesome hobby. The charity donations are coordinated by Stacey who owns and runs The Knitting Nest in South Austin. I've been to The Knitting Nest a number of times. It's a great place with a wonderful selection and plenty of space to sit and stitch.

The second charity gives yarn to knitters and crocheters who make hats for cancer patients both in the hospital and at home. The donations for that charity are coordinated by Susan who owns and runs Yarnorama in Paige, TX. I hadn't been out to Paige before and I felt like such a city girl. It was a long drive and the town is very small. But, the shop is great. The selection is very extensive. There is plenty of space to sit and stitch as well as a cafe with coffee and treats. I was impressed & wanted to purchase all sorts of beautiful fiber... I had to remind myself that I was there to donate yarn - not accumulate more!

It's weird being somewhat stash-free. I did save a few skeins, but for the most part, I have no stash right now. I'm sure that before I know it, I will have a giant, ridiculous stash again... it feels great knowing that the yarn is going towards people who will really appreciate it and will be worked into projects that will brighten someone's day.

Anyway-- I had a few projects I wanted to finish before the move. I still have one more to go (it's about 3/4ths done)... and will post pictures when it is complete.

These are the projects that I finished this week...

Matching Tabby Cat Hats for Baby and Mama

My friend Audrey commissioned me to make her two hats. One for her sister and one for her sister's baby-to-be. The idea was to make them look like orange tabby cats - complete with cat ears - because her sister has been looking for an adult hat with ears for awhile now. The baby and mama hats would match -- and would be given at the baby shower.

I hunted around for the purrrrfect orange tabby yarn and found Vanna's Choice Tangerine Mist. Of course, after going to every Michaels and a few Hobby Lobbys in the area-- I still couldn't find this color. So Audrey ended up ordering it online for me--which worked out well.

Anyway-- eventually (in a month or so), I hope to post pictures of the mama and me coordinating hats. For now, here is a picture of me modeling the mama hat. The baby hat is identical (well, smaller, but same stitch and border) with the addition of earflaps and ties that look like cat tails. Both are my own design... but there are tons of cat hats out there in knit and crochet if you are looking for a good pattern.

Fall Daisy Scarf

My other project was for my friend Dana. She loves wearing warm oranges and yellows and I wanted to make her a scarf as a thank you gift. I bought some Vanna's Choice yarn in assorted fall colors from Michael's and used the daisy square that I made as an addition to my friend Kate's blanket for inspiration. The daisy square pattern can be found here, though, I did modify it some for this scarf. After I made several squares, I stitched them together and then did an improvised border in a shell stitch. The scarf is very long and thick and warm - I'm really happy with it. Once it was finished, I washed it with fabric softener and it feels amazing.

Here are the pictures -- they aren't awesome because the scarf isn't modeled, but will give you an idea of it. For the first picture taken in my cube, the scarf hadn't been washed & blocked yet... and yes, those are ends that had yet to be woven in... but I couldn't resist taking a picture of the progress. :o)

Thanks for looking! I'm not sure that I'll be posting again until after the big move.

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Last night, my friend Audrey and I took a class at Craft-o-rama, the best place to take crafty classes in Austin! I've taken their tote bag (sewing 101) class and their Wrap Skirt Class. As evidenced by the... uh... THIRTEEN wrap skirts that I've made and posted on this blog, it's obvious that I enjoyed them!

We decided to take the Craft-O-Rama Patchwork Bag Class in which Hayley, the awesome & friendly owner of the store, teaches you a bag that she designed.

The class was very fun with a great group of women. We chatted and joked around whilst singing along to lots of fun 80's music.... oh and we made insanely cute bags!

I'm hoping to get pictures of Audrey's ridiculously fun bag - I'll update this post once I do.

Back in May of 2006, I made my first felted bag. Actually, I haven't felted anything since then, so I guess it was also my most recent! I used Crochet Me's Pike Place Market Bag Pattern. I didn't actually finish it, though. And I never sent it to my mom. The reason is that when I tried to use yarn to sew on the handles, it didn't look very nice or neat. I tried handsewing with thread, but my stitches were hideous and not strong enough for the very thick, wool fabric.

So, I put it in a bag in a rack of my UFOs (unfinished objects), stored in the back of my closet. And there it sat. And sat.

A few days ago, I was sorting through some of my UFOs and stumbled on this bag.

*Lightbulb*

I now have a kicka** sewing machine!

So on Tuesday night, my long forgotten UFO turned into a beautiful Market Bag that my Mom can take with her to Weaver Street Market. I'll add more pictures once I have some, but for now...

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Last year for Miriam's birthday, I made her one of the cutest ami's I've ever made/designed, this hot pink ami monkey. The monkey was tragically stolen from her (really!?! seriously!?!?). Anyway, this year, I wanted to make her something special again. Her baby is off to college and a lot of things will be changing in the new year.

I made a bag for her using the same basic pattern as I used for the bridal test bag. But, I drew out the size and shape that I wanted it to be instead of using the pattern. I wanted it to be big, but with a longer main handle, since she likes bags with long handles. The size is hard to tell from these pictures, but the body of the bag is 15" across and the length of the longest handle from bag body to shoulder is 12"

It's a carryall tote that is washable. Since she recently picked up crochet, maybe it'll be a good tote for her larger projects!

Monday, June 23, 2008

This weekend, I turned my apartment into a one-woman, self-imposed sweatshop of sorts, to the chagrin of Beethoven and Lily-cat. They aren't quite sure what they did to deserve the neglect.

Really, they should just be thrilled that they don't have opposable thumbs. Because, while I slaved away, this is what Beethoven did:

Excuse the blur... I had to be quick like a ninja so as not to wake him.

Despite their best efforts to lie on the fabric while I was trying to cut it... bat at the loose threads, knock over the sewing box... and roll around on their backs begging for tummy rubs, I actually was able to accomplish what I set out to do.

I made 5 skirts for my sister Megan to wear to work or for fun or whatever. She originally asked me to make her some wrap skirts for a more professional, albeit fun look awhile back. Ok, months ago! It's been on my list for a long time. Since I am seeing her this weekend (YAY!), I decided now was the time.

On Thursday night, I cut the fabric and between Friday evening and Saturday night, I had them all sewn. They are all machine washable and I pre-washed them so she can wash them on hot if she needs to (with a toddler, she needs to not worry about that kind of stuff!).

Sunday, I made a bag for my friend Miriam. I'm still handstitching part of the handle. Once I'm finished, I'll post those pictures as well.

For now, here are the pictures of Megan's New Skirts. (Megan, if any of these don't suit your fancy, no worries... ) ;o) The skirts are modeled by my new best friend Yolanda.

Some cute and fun skirts just in time for summer! The fabrics were all from hobby lobby with the exception of the Amy Butler (second skirt pictured above) which was sweetly donated by my friend Nicole. The skirts will be ironed out and probably look a heck of a lot better on my sister (sorry Yolanda, but you don't have much in the way of hips).